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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29594757">WikiHow: How To Feed A Baby Raccoon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pancake_child/pseuds/Pancake_child'>Pancake_child</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adopted Toby Smith | Tubbo, Adopted TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Alternate Universe, Bad Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Feral TommyInnit (Video Blogging RFP), Fluff, Ghost Wilbur Soot, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Jschlatt Abandoned Tubbo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parental Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Raccoon Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Raccoon TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ram Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, References to Addiction, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Twins Wilbur Soot &amp; Technoblade, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Siblings, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:35:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29594757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pancake_child/pseuds/Pancake_child</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A moment passed before he suddenly remembered something, "Oh, there was some kid out there in the woods," he said and snorted. </p><p>Phil stopped and turned to stare at Technoblade in confusion, "A what?" </p><p>(Or; Tommy is literally just a feral raccoon hybrid and Phil just wants to help him while Wilbur and Techno banter in the background)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>RedsReadlatercollection</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Racoons Won</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first ever MCYT fic, and I'm hoping I do relatively okay!<br/>I officially have a beta solely for this fic, so anything that's wrong or makes no sense-<br/>it's not my fault :3 </p><p>Anyways! This is purely self indulgent, I've read one amazing RaccoonInnit fic that made me fall in love with this very particular take on it and since then I decided I had to write my own.</p><p>  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581966">You should totally read that btw</a></p><p>Also, just to curb any confusion:<br/>Phil is just really really old (says he's 38)<br/>Wilbur and Techno are 19<br/>Tommy is 12<br/>I hope you enjoy!! I'm having a lot of fun writing it this far :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Techno was sat beneath a tree in the forest near his home, trying to weasel in the most outdoor reading he could before the bearable seasonal chill became too cold. He never did well with cold, being a piglin hybrid. The sun soon began to set, the only sign of him feeling rushed being the flicking of his hog-like tail. The brisk wind of dusk was what finally pushed him to put his bookmark in place and stand. It was about time he headed home. </p><p> </p><p>So he started off towards the humble abode that had likely been there since the beginning of time. It usually took Techno about five minutes to make it back, but unbeknownst to him, today was going to turn rather unusual. His pink doe-like ears twitched in the direction of a loud crash, and he looked sharply to the left just in time to see a shadowed form tumble from a tree just a few feet away. Without a single thought, Techno dropped his book to the forest floor and pulled out the Orphan Obliterator. He waited a moment, expectantly, and was shocked to see the figure run <em>away</em> instead of towards him. A normal human might have taken this as a good place to turn around and go back to a normal day, but Techno had no interest in doing such a thing and charged after the figure. </p><p> </p><p>He got the chance to note no more than the fact that he was seemingly tearing after a <em>person</em> running on all fours before he heard a hiss at his feet. Techno had very little time to react before two adult raccoons launched themselves at him and began scratching and gnawing on anything solid they could get into contact with. Techno sputtered in surprise, as this was not normal raccoon behaviour, and attempted to use the hilt of his sword as well as his free hand to dislodge the raccoons from his torso and shoulder. When he began to take a few steps back, deeming this not important enough to fight for, the racoons decided they'd damaged him more than enough to get him away from whatever they were protecting and leapt away. Techno took that very moment to thrust his sword in the air and grin sharply. "Technoblade <em>always</em> wins!!" he shouted. The shout was met with more rustling from the forest until finally things went silent. </p><p> </p><p>As the adrenaline rush of the chase and the raccoon attack dropped, Techno was reminded of the almost fully set sun and the cold. The breeze certainly wasn't helping with the now stinging cuts and scratches decorating his form. He sighed and sheathed his sword, finally turning back into the direction of the house. It would take him a little longer to get back at this point, but it was worth it to say the least. </p><p> </p><p>It took Techno almost double the normal time to get home, and by the time he got to the door Phil was on the other side tugging it open at exactly the same moment. He had his hat donned and a simple chestplate pulled over his torso, his wings notably puffed up larger than normal. When his gaze met with Techno's, a sigh escaped his mouth, both exasperated and grateful. Phil's hands dropped to his sides and he shook his head, "Tech, you-" and suddenly, as if the initial joy at knowing for a fact that Techno was safe had worn off, he glanced down to the scratches and bite marks, "Mate, what the hell happened?" As he said it, the exasperation returning in his voice, he turned back into the house and started undoing his chestplate. </p><p> </p><p>Techno followed and chuckled to himself, "Raccoons, that's what happened. I've never seen them do anythin' like that, it was crazy," he said and shook his head, "they came at me for no reason! Maybe I ran into their burrow?" He threw his hands up before sitting down on the shoe cubby near the door and unstrapping the hilt from his side and taking his boots off. "I don't know." A moment passed before he suddenly remembered something, "Oh, there was also some kid out there," he said, almost as an afterthought, and snorted. </p><p> </p><p>Phil stopped at the last comment just as he got to undoing the last strap of his chestplate, turning to stare at Technoblade in confusion, "A what?" </p><p> </p><p>"Not 'a', 'the'. There were multiple raccoons," Techno said indifferently. He stood up, pulling his sheath and sword back into his hands. As he started to walk towards the staircase leading up to his room he furrowed his eyebrows, "You meant the kid," he realized, pausing in his step, "Yeah, there was some kid out in the forest. Didn't get a good look though." After he said it he shrugged and started walking up the stairs again, ignoring Phil's inhale that meant he was about to speak. </p><p> </p><p>Before Phil <em>could</em> speak, however, a very familiar voice echoed from the top of the staircase, "Raccoons, huh?" and then came the slam of Converse soles on wood as Wilbur outright leapt from the top of the stairs to the midway landing. He had a goofy grin on his face, one that Techno knew all too well, he was definitely joining the conversation with intent to cause chaos. In response Techno immediately let out an exasperated sigh and brought his hand up to pinch his nose. "Holy shit, they won?" Wilbur laughed to himself and pushed past Techno, almost knocking him off his feet, to hand Phil a book he had under his arm. "Told you he'd be back safe n sound, pops." Phil simply took the book and gave Wilbur a good-natured shove. </p><p> </p><p>"They did <em>not</em> win," Techno replied, "I think you're forgettin' that I don't lose." As he spoke, he continued up the stairs, rolling his eyes. "Shoulda seen the raccoons," he mumbled just as he turned to the next set of stairs. </p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, Technoblade always wins, I forgot about that!" Wilbur snorted, "So easy to forget when I'm the one winning the spars!" </p><p> </p><p>"Cause you cheat," Techno reminded him briskly. </p><p> </p><p>"Listen, I don't care about the raccoons and whether or not they won-" Phil started, only to be interrupted. </p><p> </p><p>"They didn't." "They did!" Techno and Wilbur cut in simultaneously, only for Phil to sigh loudly. </p><p> </p><p>"Cease. I want to know more about this kid," as he finished his statement, he paused and shook his head, "No, actually I want to help you clean those wounds up, Tech. Then we'll talk about the kid." With that, Phil started up the staircase himself, and Wilbur decided after a moment he may as well trail behind.</p><p> </p><p>Techno groaned like he was about to die, letting his head hang back. "I can take care of myself, Phil." He finally made it to the second floor and beelined for his room, planning to deal with his injuries alone. The quickening footsteps meant that wasn't going to happen, and he didn't even bother trying to close the door behind him when he got into his room. He tossed his hilt off into the general direction of his closet and sat on his bed, looking back at the doorway and to Phil who was now standing in it. "Lemme guess, you know I can take care of myself but," he raised his voice about two levels into a crude falsetto, "Tech, you're my son and I want you to know I care." Even with changing his voice, Techno's words came off as the entirely normal monotone deadpan it always seemed to be. </p><p> </p><p>Phil responded by letting loose a little laugh, "Sure, mate, close enough," and sat down next to Techno, reaching out as Wilbur stepped in to hand him the first aide kit from the bathroom. </p><p> </p><p>The moment Wilbur had deemed his presence no longer necessary, he saluted the two, "I'm off to make ear melting tunes, hoping this new one'll deafen you guys." He winked and turned to leave, but not before Techno could reply with a, "Hope you break something," only to earn a light smack on the shoulder from Phil and a badly muffled chuckle. </p><p> </p><p>"Alright son," Phil deliberately ignored the answering sigh from Techno, "Let's get this all cleaned up huh?" At that, he opened the first aide kit and went to work. Nothing was all that bad, if anything Phil barely believed he needed the kit. Some cuts were worse than others, and a couple needed to be bandaged, but for the most part things just needed to be cleaned up to ensure they wouldn't get infected. "So," Phil started once more, "The kid?" </p><p> </p><p>"Like I said, I didn't get a good look. It was a person in the woods crawlin' around on all fours. I tried to chase them, but those stupid raccoons got in the way." He huffed and shook his head, "Why's it so important to you?" </p><p> </p><p>Phil shrugged but failed miserably at trying to look like it didn't matter to him. "Kids shouldn't be out in the woods by themselves. Hell, you're 19 and those raccoons still fucked with you." </p><p> </p><p>"And you know they're out there by themself because..?" Techno met Phil's gaze and raised his eyebrow, then started to undo his now messy braid. "They weren't a baby, from the amount of noise they made they had to have some size to them. Look, we can go check it out, sure, but who's to say they aren't happy out there?" </p><p> </p><p>Phil frowned, "You don't get it." He started to stand, closing the kit, "Happy in the woods or not, it isn't a place for kids, and winter's on its way in." He set his jaw, the sure sign to Techno that this wasn't something he could argue. It would be like talking to a wall. "I'm helping them, and I'd appreciate it if you and Will helped me do it." </p><p> </p><p>"Alright old man, if it's that important to you. I'm sure Wilbur will be ecstatic, he'll have someone brand new to torture." He chuckled, standing up, "I'm gonna shower, I'll be down whenever dinner's ready." </p><p> </p><p>As Techno stood up Phil took the chance to give him an awkward side hug, "Thanks mate." </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Forest Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>175 kudos in 2 weeks with only one chapter?! Omfg guys, thank you so much, I wasn't expecting this story to do so well, I'm super excited to see how you feel as the story continues!! </p><p>I'm very happy with this chapter and hoping you guys enjoy it! I tried not to dwell too much on pre-plot build-up, but I'm also hoping this doesn't feel super rushed! </p><p>Thank you guys again, love you! </p><p>(I'm gonna be drawing some stuff from this chapter pretty soon and they'll pop up on my Twitter, so if you wanna see that follow me @Death_by_syrup!)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Phil and his boys were sat around the kitchen table in a silence filled with tension. Techno had finished his shower, and Wilbur had helped Phil make a simple dinner meal of soup and bread while they waited. Now, with the food eaten and the dishes cleaned, Phil had the two sit down so they could formulate a plan of action for who was deemed the 'Forest Baby' by Wilbur. </p><p> </p><p>Phil was very forceful with his intention to care for the child. Techno had already had the conversation with him and very intentionally kept his mouth shut while they ate, but Wilbur hadn't quite gotten the point until Phil snapped and simply explained that if Wilbur didn't want to help he could 'kindly piss off'. It was these moments that Phil looked back on and wondered if adopting was his best course of action. </p><p> </p><p>Now, both boys were silent and expectant, looking to Phil for whatever course of action he was planning. He kept the complete silence for a moment until finally sighing through his nose to break it, "I have an idea," he muttered and leaned back in his chair. Wilbur and Techno didn't even bother hiding their unimpressed expressions, and Phil actively avoided commenting on them. "I say we go out tomorrow, a little later than when you spotted them, Techno. They'll be more active, they're nocturnal. We find the kid, we take them here, we keep them upstairs in the other room and figure out what's up." By the end of his words, he was still met with silence. He blinked, looking between both his sons, "So?" </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur looked like he was about to start crying, if it wasn't for the lopsided grin on his face revealing it was repressed laughter bringing the tears about. Techno, on the other hand, was far better at controlling himself and folded his arms with an almost grim look on his face. He was maybe taking it too seriously to overcompensate for the lack of actual care. "That's not really a plan," Techno pointed out, "There's nothin' exact unless you count the time. We just bring the thing home and ask why they're runnin' around with animals? Phil," he shook his head, looking down to the table, "it ran on all fours away from me like some creature, it's probably not fully there. We're gonna have to do more than 'pspspspspsps, c'mere', it's gonna turn 'n run."</p><p> </p><p>That was all it took for Wilbur to lose his control and begin giggling to himself. The laughter earned a swift kick under the table and he put his hands up as if in surrender, "Look, I just think this is ridiculous. The Forest Baby is there for a reason, why are we fucking with them? Just cause Blade turned out to be in need doesn't mean every kid out in the wilderness does." Techno sighed like the oxygen in his lungs was actually poison, letting his head drop back against the back of his chair. </p><p> </p><p>Phil ignored Techno, meeting Wilbur's gaze, "Mate, you don't have to help, I'm not forcing you. As your father and the run of the house, however, I plan to take the kid in." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur just shrugged, "It'll be even better if Blade's eyes were playing tricks on him and it wasn't even a kid." </p><p> </p><p>"I can see <em>fine</em>," Techno retorted. </p><p> </p><p>Before Wilbur could even open his mouth to say anything more in response, Phil held his hands up, "Boys, stop it." The responding glare from both teens was more than worth it. "We're planning, not arguing about how well Techno can see. As to what you were saying, Tech, you said you saw a person, or at least what looked like one. Thus they shouldn't be out in the woods and it's my job to make sure they're safe. I want you two to help me catch them, if you're willing, unless you have something better to do with your time." He paused until both nodded ever so slightly, "Good. I say we go out to where their home is, near where Techno was attacked, and look for the kid. When we find them, we take them home." </p><p> </p><p>Techno yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Are we allowed to use force if they go insane?" </p><p> </p><p>"N-" Phil started before he thought about it, and suddenly changed tracks, "Yes actually. Yes, you can. Just… don't hurt them." </p><p> </p><p>"So that's that!" Wilbur called, shooting up out of his seat, "I'm going to bed now, we'll finish up these Forest Baby chronicles tomorrow and all that." </p><p> </p><p>Techno waited until he was positive Phil was done before standing himself, "Night Phil." </p><p> </p><p>Phil responded with a simple nod, deciding to continue sitting at the table and thinking. There wasn't exactly any harm in it. "Night boys." </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>"So it's just about time, then," Phil mumbled. He had a simple stone sword slung over his shoulder, in interest of not actually harming anything he came into contact with. Techno had his armour donned for little explainable reason, and Wilbur only had his sword in tow in the case of monsters showing themselves as the night progressed. "Tech, lead the way."</p><p> </p><p>Techno nodded silently, and pushed the door open. He wanted to make this quick, tonight was far colder than the last and the sun was completely set at this point. Not to mention he was prepared to get attacked again. </p><p> </p><p>He led Wilbur and Phil out through the woods, in the direction of where he'd been when the raccoons launched themselves at him. When they came to where it had been, it was strangely silent and still. "Perfect," Techno breathed, "They moved." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur shrugged, "Guess we're going back home then," he chuckled to himself at the short chorus of 'no's he received. "Blade, thought you were amazing at tracking or something." </p><p> </p><p>"I am," Techno agreed, looking to the ground. The main issue was, it was dark and the forest floor simply looked like forest. There wasn't much to see, save a few leaves that shouldn't quite have been falling at this point. So, instead of looking for tracks or anything of the sort, he began moving around the general area in search of things raccoons may use as burrows. He wouldn't be lying if he said the moment Phil found interest, Techno went about researching how raccoons lived their lives. </p><p> </p><p>Phil started to chip in after a little while, realizing that Techno wasn't getting any luck. Wilbur was taking his time looking out for monsters. It was a good thing he was, as throughout the search, two zombies tried their hand at hurting someone in their group. </p><p> </p><p>A full hour passed before Phil stopped Techno, tugging at his forearm, "Stop walking. Look up, mate." With his other hand, he pointed to a large tree directly in front of them. Within its branches was a form larger than what one would expect to see in a forest. Through the leaves it was hard to fully make out, but Phil had caught the sight of one thin hand grasping a branch. A human hand. The form was standing completely still, as if waiting for something to happen. Phil felt it was probably waiting for them to move on. That was when he heard a growl, though it sounded almost like a replica of an animal's growl instead of a natural one, like a child imitating a dog.</p><p> </p><p>Techno raised a brow and didn't break sight with the form, "What do you want me to do about it?" He knew the coming answer, but why not ask before doing it to ensure he was totally right. It definitely wasn't to put off climbing a tree after whatever was growling at him. It certainly didn't help that the voices in his head chose that moment to remind him he'd left his book here the night before. The chanting of 'BOOK!!' and 'PUNCH IT!! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD' was frustrating at best. </p><p> </p><p>Before Phil could even tell Techno to climb up after the figure, two forms came tumbling from the branches. The form they'd been looking at initially, and Wilbur. At the sight of Wilbur, Phil turned back to where he'd initially been posted and noted that he was indeed gone. Good initiative, he supposed. </p><p> </p><p>The moment the growling mass hit the ground, it turned in Wilbur's grasp and began clawing at every point it could. It was hissing, growling, and thrashing now, trying more than anything else to just escape. </p><p> </p><p>"Holy fuck- chill," Wilbur gasped, trying to push the thing down and get it's hands away from him. He managed only after it got one of its nails across his face. As he got a good look his eyes narrowed. The most notable thing was its ears, perched atop its head with the natural colouring and shape of a raccoon. Needless to say it was a little strange, as the rest of what Wilbur could see was human. Well, looked human at the very least. </p><p> </p><p>The thing wasn't giving up even as Wilbur's full weight was pinning it to the forest floor, still hissing and thrashing. Techno helped hold it down after a little while after a moment of watching in amusement, and almost a full half an hour passed before it finally calmed down and, "Holy shit it passed out," Wilbur commented, looking up to Phil who was glancing around for any monsters willing to show themselves. He shrugged, "Makes it easier to take home. Still want it?" </p><p> </p><p>"Him," Phil corrected and gave a brisk nod, "He's not an animal, we're taking him home." Techno made no move to argue, nor to even speak at all, simply standing and moving back. "I can carry him back," Phil offered, shooing Wilbur away. He knelt down and pulled the boy into his arms, noting how little he weighed. It wasn't hard to see that he wasn't well fed, not that the idea was shocking. As he lifted him, there was one more shocking discovery; a ringed tail.</p><p> </p><p>"A furry," Techno breathed, chuckling to himself. He actively ignored the scathing glare he received from Phil, instead focusing on the laughter from Wilbur. "Phil, you can bring him home yourself, I need to look for my book. Those raccoons got to it last night, cringe." </p><p> </p><p>Phil looked like he was about to decline the plan until Wilbur handed his sword to Techno. He gave a little nod, "Alright mate, get back home as soon as you can. Not sure how long this little one will stay unconscious, and by the looks of it he won't be too thrilled when he wakes up." Phil let out a nervous chuckle. </p><p> </p><p>"He isn't that little," Wilbur pointed out as he turned in the direction of the house. "I thought Blade saw an actual toddler wandering around in the forest. Maybe the name should be updated to 'Forest Brat'." Wilbur turned to Phil, giving jazz hands and a lopsided smirk.</p><p> </p><p>Phil rolled his eyes, "I have a couple ideas for a name, I'm just waiting to see what kind of kid he is. He is small, by the way. I'm not sure if you noticed but he's quite a bit smaller than he probably should be." </p><p> </p><p>"It balances out us tall people," Wilbur mentioned with a snicker. </p><p> </p><p>They started off towards the house, letting Techno continue his search for his book. At the very least Phil knew the voices that plagued him would somewhat help him keep an eye out for danger. As they walked, Phil took the silence to look over the child's wellbeing. He looked to be maybe just hitting near 10 years, possibly a little older, though it was hard to tell with the almost malnourished look about him. He was 'wearing' clothes, probably as a means to keep warm. He had quite literally half a t-shirt under a backwards jacket that was too large for his little body along with a pair of shorts so large they looked like pants on him. He wasn't wearing socks or shoes, and the pants had a large hole in the back assumedly to fit his tail through. The sight hurt Phil's heart, and he wanted nothing more than to hold the kid close until he was safe and fed. </p><p> </p><p>"A good thing Blade found him when he did, yeah? I mean, it's gonna start snowing soon, not sure how well he would've done in the snow," Wilbur pointed out. Without Techno around he tended to actually get a head on his shoulders, he had less of an audience to impress. </p><p> </p><p>"Yup," Phil agreed, smoothing his fingers gently through the boy's hair. "He could've frozen. Ears and a tail won't do shit for the cold." </p><p> </p><p>"How long do you think he was out here?" Wilbur asked, pulling the door open as they got to the house. He made sure to hold it open for Phil. </p><p> </p><p>"He was more animal than person," Phil mumbled, "Probably a long time. He's going to be hard to care for. You're still going to help, yes?" </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded, "I may as well. He's going to end up my brother whether I like it or not. Maybe this thing'll scar and I can hold it over his head for all eternity." He grinned, pointing to the scratch across his face. </p><p> </p><p>"If you wait to deal with it, it'll do worse than scar. Go clean that up, I'll get him into the guest room." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded and started off towards the bathroom while Phil did just as he had said. He'd spent the night before sleepless, making sure the room was safe for a potentially distressed child. He'd probably made a good choice. The children's toys he'd brought down most likely weren't necessary seeing the boy's general age, but he'd already taken them into the room and he wasn't sure how long he had until the boy woke. </p><p> </p><p>He settled him on the bed in the centre of the room gently, barely convincing himself not to change the jacket to the right direction or try to clean some of the dirt on his face off. He gave the very hint of a smile before stepping back and out of the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. He couldn't risk the boy escaping and hurting himself. </p><p> </p><p>Almost as if every star in the sky aligned, Wilbur stepped out of the bathroom and Techno entered the house in that exact moment. Phil was visibly tense and a little unhappy, but for the most part the fact that the child was put in his new room helped bring some warmth to the household. The boy was going to be okay, if Phil could help it. He'd done this before, he could do it again. </p><p> </p><p>"Boys, can you head to the village tomorrow morning to pick up some things for me?" </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur gave a little noise of reluctance and Techno groaned. Phil simply smiled, things were looking good. His boys were safe, and he was adopting a new son. How could life get any better? </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks once again to you guys as well as my amazing beta reader! 💙</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Conqueror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my goodness guys, the comments last chapter got made my heart soar, thank you all so much for reading so far! I'm hoping everyone's enjoying it! </p>
<p>As a treat, here's chapter 3 one whole week early! I'm contemplating just changing the schedule to once a week 👀 </p>
<p>This chapter was so much fun to write, it's entirely in Tommy's perspective and thus things are a little wild! <br/>I also realized as I began that Tommy hasn't been named yet, and I thus had to settle with Tommy's name for himself, hopefully that's okay! </p>
<p>Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! Tysm once again 💙💙</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Forest Brat, or as he knew himself; Conqueror, opened his eyes for the first time in what he could only presume to be long enough to know he wouldn't be killed yet, he noted he was in a dark cave. A cave with a strange floor, albeit, but a cave nonetheless. It smelled strange, and where he was laying he couldn't see an exit of any sort. He stayed still for a moment, keeping his breathing as steady as it had been when he had played dead. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When no noise or movement came for a while, he began to push himself up, narrowing his eyes in confusion when the ground beneath him sank under his weight. He made a soft chittering sound and backed away from his spot, only to give a soft shriek as even more of the ground sank. He continued to back up, just trying to find solid ground, when suddenly there was no ground at all underneath his back legs and he tumbled off the platform. All he could do was manly squeak as he fell onto hard ground, crushing his tail painfully beneath his weight. Well, it was hard when he fell at the very least, but when he righted himself the texture was almost like hard grass, but it barely sank beneath his feet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He began making what were definitely powerful and controlled chattering sounds, looking back up to the place he'd fallen from. He wasn't even going to try to figure that one out, simply dubbing it the Fall Box for the time being. Instead he focused on the hard grass, picking at it with his hands and unsuccessfully trying to dislodge any pieces. He frowned and looked away, becoming bored rather quickly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was when he heard sounds from one of the walls with a strange handle of some sort stuck to it, the only wall with any sun coming from the bottom. First it was loud stepping sounds until they stopped and part of the sun was obscured. He shifted uncomfortably, his ears twitching towards the Sun Wall. Moments passed without any noise until he began to hear quiet droning sounds. He'd never heard anything make that noise before, it was close to the sounds that the half-legged creatures had made, but theirs were always more like that of a dog's; barking and angry. The droning sounds went on for a little while until falling silent, though the sun was still obscured and no other sounds were made. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Conqueror took a few steps back from the Sun Wall, glancing to his side towards the thing he'd fallen off of and made a snap decision to hide behind it. Upon moving behind the thing he noted many strange objects, but paid no mind to them for the time being. The silence from the Sun Wall was unnerving. He waited behind the Fall Box for a while, not even taking a moment to peer at the Sun Wall to see if the sun returned in full view. More time passed and finally he risked a peek around the corner; the sun was back. He cooed to himself softly and began stepping out from behind the Fall Box again, this time moving closer to the Sun Wall curiously. He moved slowly, as if anticipating sound or movement as he got closer, none came. In fact, he got almost close enough to hit his nose against the wall and nothing around him changed. So, without any hesitation, he slid his fingers beneath the Sun Wall. He was met with no reaction of any sort, even upon wiggling his fingers, and he retracted his hand as he became bored and disinterested. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>His mind drifted to the strange objects suddenly, and he slowly inched away from the Sun Wall, keeping his ears directed towards it in case whatever was moving before came back. He made his way behind the Fall Box and looked to the strange objects, reaching out to take one. It was solid and smooth, the shape and size of a rock but much lighter than one. He threw it directly at the wall of the cave, his ears swiveling back towards the direction of the Sun Wall as the not-rock crashed against the dark wall. He waited one beat, two beats, and reached out to grasp another not-rock, throwing this next. Each time he threw a not-rock, he waited a few moments for a reaction from the Sun Wall. Upon throwing his third not-rock there was a response, a louder, but still not bark-like, droning. It didn't last long this time around before the sound stopped. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He waited until silence encased the space around him before chittering to himself again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had been what Conqueror could only imagine to be a full Sun Hour before any noise returned to the Sun Wall, however this time the soft droning came alongside a strange rattling. He immediately dashed back behind the Fall Box, pulling the soft ground of the box down around him. He'd noted this use a while after the not-rocks, and determined it would help him become much safer. The rattling became louder until finally the cave was bathed in sun for an instant, then returned to darkness. He used the Fall Box ground to cover his face. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A beat passed, then another, and finally slow footsteps sounded from directly behind Conqueror. He bit back any noise he even considered making. The droning returned after a second, now sounding confused. He tensed, waiting to be pounced on and torn to shreds. It would be about time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He closed his eyes tightly and tugged the ground closer to his chest. More silent moments passed and he heard the placement of <em>something</em> near him. He wasn't quite thinking when he began growling, knowing whatever it was seemed close now. Another droning tone came, then the footsteps were moving in the other direction. The rattling noise came again, then there was silence once more. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He waited for a while after that, staying still and mostly silent. Once he determined whatever it was couldn't possibly be that quiet for that long, he moved the material from over him and looked around himself. The only thing out of place was something he'd seen in half-legged food bins, but strangely enough it was filled with water. It was a bowl, though a light blue instead of the normal white. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sniffed the air, looking down at the water like it was the reason for his turmoil. He stuck the tip of his finger in it and noted quickly that it was warm. He narrowed his eyes and leaned down towards it, taking a small drink, and immediately reared back with a chitter. It wasn't water, in fact, it tasted like food. He blinked, backing up ever so slightly in confusion. Food Water wasn't something he'd ever seen in his life, especially with the opaque yellow-ish colour. Nothing was floating in it, thankfully. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The taste of the Food Water reminded him of how long it had been since he last ate, however, and after a few moments of trepidation he accepted whatever fate would fall upon him and began drinking the liquid quickly. His stomach hurt by the time he finished it, but he didn't know when he'd next have anything to eat. No use saving Food Water for later. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Food Water arrived twice more throughout the time Conqueror remained in the cave. The second time he hid once more and wasn't bothered, simply given the Food Water and left alone. The third time was different, however, as when he covered himself with the soft ground to the sound of the rattling, he expected to be allowed to hide. That time the Donator of Food tugged the soft ground off of his face. He <em>immediately</em> hissed, pushing himself further into the corner and baring his teeth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was met with the appearance of the one that had thrown him off of his perch. Definitely a half-leg. It was holding more Food Water, which had to be the only reason he had any intention of remaining on the ground and refusing to attempt to tear this beast's throat out. He growled deep in his chest, watching as the Food Water was placed gently on the floor. A moment passed, then another, with no movement. That is, until Conqueror leapt on the creature like his life depended on it; and it probably did. To his own surprise, he knocked the thing to the ground in his antics, but he didn't even give a moment to his surprise. Instead, he immediately began clawing at the half-leg, cursing his abnormally dull claws more than anything in this moment. The half-leg let out a loud barking sound, much like what Conqueror presumed half-legs always sounded like. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He barely had the chance to do much damage before the cave was bathed in sunlight and put in darkness again. He felt claws tug against his forelegs and he was pulled away from the half-leg. He instantly turned to the newcomer and attempted to attack them next, only to be stopped short as he was pushed onto the Fall Box and his arms were held down. The new one barked something, and the other half-leg pushed itself to its feet, rushing off to the other side of the cave. Conqueror looked up to his captor, very quickly realizing that this wasn't a half-leg. It looked like a boar, that with the tusks and the pure muscle keeping him held down. Its eyes were flashing with something Conqueror couldn't determine, and part of him began to quickly decide he needed to escape. So like the genius he is, he began struggling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wasn't able to move much, but he tried anyways, letting out distressed calls. He didn't even know if anyone could hear him. He was going to die alone, by the hands of a strange boar. He wiggled harder, baring his canines and shrieking in the boar's face hoping it would give him some amount of shock factor to play off of. Time passed and he grew tired, the lack of nutrition in his body catching up with him. He slowed his escape attempts and kept his gaze locked with the boar's as if his hubris would keep him alive for even a little longer. Deep down, he was accepting his demise. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It never came, however, as once he stopped struggling entirely the boar pulled away and pulled the Sun Wall open. Conqueror wasn't even able to push himself up before the Sun Wall was closed again. It was such a strange cave. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He let himself fall back down to his original position and attempted to slow his breathing. That was when the water began burning in his eyes. He never understood this water, it never happened to anyone else in his Clan. They went about their lives without water leaving their eyes, so when it happened to Conqueror he only felt worse about whatever situation caused it. This time it was due to his lack of ability to ever be safe. He was stuck in this cave that was accessible by those that took him from home, from his family. They were toying with him, it was becoming frankly obvious that it was a game. He was so very weak, he couldn't be a danger to them. Especially not the boar. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>His chest convulsed in hiccuping breaths as the water grew thicker. He couldn't stop it. He began crooning gently, as if it would help him calm down. This went on for a little while, and when he had finished it was safe to say he was dehydrated and exhausted. He pushed himself up slowly and leapt off the Fall Box, refusing to fall down this time around and reminding himself that the ground wouldn't fall down entirely under his weight. He stepped towards the Food Water and without any hesitation drank it down as fast as he could. Now that the dehydration was dealt with, the exhaustion hit him harder than ever. He needed sleep. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, he padded towards the pile of Fall Box ground and curled up within the soft texture. He rested his head on his forearms, closing his eyes once he got comfortable, and fell asleep. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It seemed even rest didn't allow him to escape his literal hell. His head spun in a darkness he couldn't even begin to see through. The spinning went faster as time wore on until finally it was too much and he snapped awake. He attempted sleep again, the next time in a different position. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no longer any spinning, instead he awoke at home. It was seemingly in the warmest time of the Cycle, and food was plentiful. As time passed, Conqueror going about his normal daily activities, the day seemed to sour. It was barely notable with the slight temperature changes and the strange small animals he'd never seen before, maybe it was just an off day. The true realization to the change came when his clanmates began dying, and rapidly at that. It had begun as a normal day and now here he sat, in the grass that had slowly turned from a bright green to a strange grey, in the centre of the bodies of those he cared for. His family. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He didn't even have the energy nor will to shriek. That was when he saw her, a figure he vaguely recognised but couldn't put a name to. She seemed to be a half-leg, and as she stepped closer more intricate details of her appearance became notable. She wore a crown of leaves and shaped sticks, all golden and orange hues. She also wore a dress looking as if it was made from the bark of an oak tree, and was apparently foregoing shoes. How Conqueror recognised her at all was strange. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She stepped forward even closer until she was about in arms reach, opened her mouth to speak, and Conqueror woke. He was back in the strange cave once more, this time far less exhausted and more than anything; unsettled. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Tubbox</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my god, I really said 'changing to weekly' and proceeded to miss the post date the week after... <br/>I'm so sorry guys!! I just got a new job so it's been a little stressful, I swear I had a good excuse (my beta was also having a shitty week and was putting this off)</p>
<p>Anyways! I hope this chapter makes up for the wait! We're introducing a new character I've been so excited to write!! :eyes:<br/>To help internal imagery, Tubbo is 11 years old! (yes, younger than Tommy, this is fanfiction :3)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The injuries from getting attacked by the child in the guestroom hurt far more than Wilbur could have anticipated. He really hadn't thought about the dirt under the kid's nails or the pure undying motivation for him to escape if given the chance. Looking back on the situation, it certainly wasn't his most intelligent idea. However, he vaguely remembered when Phil adopted Techno, and the piglin hybrid certainly hadn't been this bad. He'd blame it on inexperience. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Techno didn't let him live down the mishap the entire rest of the night. Even when he was helping dress his wounds he couldn't stop making small comments about it and chuckling to himself. Needless to say, it was getting frustrating. At the very least Phil was more concerned about Wilbur's injuries than focused on the stupidity of the situation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the long run, the escapade hadn't even done anything to help him understand the kid any better. Phil had been explaining that as he offered broth to the raccoon hybrid, the kid hid under a blanket and kept silent. He seemed slightly discouraged about it, but mentioned that he wouldn't push the kid. Wilbur took that as a challenge to impress Phil. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not that it ended well, obviously. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur was now sitting on the couch in the main room, his hands folded in his lap as he thought. The child was a puzzle, a puzzle he wanted nothing more than to figure out and complete. No one else was in the room at that moment, Phil was out on the farm collecting food and Techno was up in his room reading or something. Nerd. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He exhaled slowly and pushed himself to his feet. With no one around he was bound to have more stupid ideas. So, he began heading upstairs towards the guest room once more. He made sure to quiet his footsteps ever so slightly once he neared Techno's room, not about to tip the piglin hybrid off that he was once again going to be a complete idiot. When he finally made it to the door of the guest room, he knocked on it gently, waiting to hear a response from the other side. First came soft almost clicking and movement just loud enough to be heard through the door, then the sound came closer and turned into growling. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course the kid would be a little pissed off, last visit wasn't exactly the greatest experience for any party involved. He stood unmoving for a moment, making no noise whatsoever, then had an idea. He rushed to his bedroom, grasping his guitar and carrying it back to the door once again. He sat on the carpet, crossed his legs, and waited a few moments before he began strumming a few soft notes. Music had always calmed Wilbur down, and Techno seemed to somewhat tolerate it even if he said otherwise. The growling, that had been held the entire time, finally stopped short. He was shocked out of strumming for a moment when he noted fingers slipping under the door. His brow furrowed when they wiggled for a moment and were pulled back once contact was made with nothing. Wilbur started playing once more. He wasn't playing anything in particular, simply making up some cord orientation on the spot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he started getting into the music, he completely forgot that the kid even existed, getting into his own head and switching songs on occasion before he began tentatively playing the cords for a song he was working on. A sudden hand on his shoulder just about made him drop his instrument, "Holy shit! Who the fuck-" He yelped, jerking his head to the side to see who touched him. When he  glanced up he quickly recognized  it to be Phil. He blinked, and cleared his throat before saying, in the most put together fashion, "Ayup." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Phil sighed and patted his shoulder before pulling his hand away, "What are you doing?" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur could feel a flush dusting his cheeks as he slowly put his guitar down, "Well, I thought maybe if I played a song instead of going in the room it'd get him used to people without anyone else getting torn to fucking shreds." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Phil stayed silent for a moment, and Wilbur was almost afraid he was trying to figure out some way to tell him nicely that he was a dumbass. Any anxiety surrounding that vanished upon remembering the fact that Phil held nothing back and would tell him he was a dumbass to his face. "Fair enough," Phil finally replied, "I actually wanted to ask you if you'd be okay with heading to the village to grab some things for me? Not much, just simple things." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur frowned, "We literally just went, did you forget something?" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, I didn't completely think through this entire process. Most of it is for Tommy," Phil responded simply with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"...Tommy?" Wilbur cocked his head to the side a slight then pointed his finger ever so slightly at the door in curiosity. When he was met with a nod his frown deepened even more, "Ugh, that's a shit name." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Well he's my son and you have no say," Phil pointed out and grinned, "Come on, put the guitar back and get going, I need you back before sunset." He held out a piece of paper with a list of things written on it, and Wilbur took it begrudgingly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stuck his tongue out at Phil in passing, only to be cuffed lightly around the head, and continued walking. He knew better, truthfully, Phil wanted him out of the house to make sure 'Tommy' was comfortable or whatever when he was fed again. He put his guitar back in its place and turned towards the stairs, pausing and going instead to Techno's room. He peeked his head inside and made the possibly most dramatic 'I'm going to die' face he possibly could. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you want?" Techno asked, still very much reading his book, the thing was certainly bigger than was probably necessary. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Phil's sending me out to town for safety shit, want anything while I'm there?" Wilbur gestured to the paper in his hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Techno looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow, "Never, I'm an independent person." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, sure," and exited the room when Techno went back to his book, closing the door behind him. Off to the village, he supposed. Hopefully he didn't return to any torn out throats or raccoons relishing their win over the small part of the society who were out in the wilderness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The walk to the village was frustratingly long, and no matter how familiar with it Wilbur was, he always wished he had wings like Phil to speed things up. Thankfully actually buying things in the village wasn't hard, show a few emeralds to legitimately anyone in the entire village and they would offer all sorts of crazy things. Wilbur's all time favourite offer had to have been a legitimate ball of slime. The thing was nasty and Wilbur took it solely for the joke, only to find Phil 'needed it', and it was no longer in his possession. He was still a little pissed about that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked, he took some solace in the crinkling of the leaves underfoot. There weren't many, but enough to tease at the idea of winter moving in slowly. The thought of winter arriving definitely helped Wilbur feel better about taking a child from his strange family within the woods. Sure, at its surface the situation was terrible; they basically kidnapped a child for their own consciences. However, deeper within the idea, they took a child from a place it would die in. Even one glance to the kid could prove that more than anything, he was nothing but skin, bones, and scars. If he was doing so badly at this point, before food was becoming scarce, how would he do later in the winter? Wilbur wasn’t going to think about the fact that he’d most likely survived years of winters. Thinking too hard about it would mean returning to feeling like a kidnapper. His father wasn’t a kidnapper. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even if the kid had torn up his face more than once, he'd grown attached to him. Wilbur wasn't sure if he would ever be able to just willingly let him go at this point. Granted he knew the relationship could only grow deeper. Hell, Wilbur was sure he'd die for Techno. If that didn't show the depth of his bonds with people eventually, what did? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Deep in thought, he barely noted when he finally entered the village. He only noticed when he practically ran into one of the villagers and received an angry grunt in response. While great traders, they were never really much for talking. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He made his way through the area, trading emeralds for all the things he read on the list. They were simple things, more bowls, more soup ingredients, soap and cloth, etc. Phil was definitely buying things solely for 'Tommy'. It certainly didn't bother Wilbur, it just meant he didn't have to worry about what washcloth the kid would be using to clean all that dirt and grime off. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sun was starting to get to the point in the sky that meant Wilbur had to head home. He wasn't about to actively ignore Phil's implicit rule for that night. Issues always seemed to arise during sunset, strangely enough. Little did Wilbur know, this sunset would echo that same idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Wilbur made it about five minutes down the path, he heard very distinct crying. Not that of an animal, but seemingly human. He stopped, glancing around and noting a bush off to the side of the trail, definitely in the direction of the crying. He tentatively made his way towards the bush and as he neared it the crying turned into soft sniffles and a whispered, 'dad?'. He pushed through the leaves and frowned upon seeing what it was, a small child tucked into a simple cardboard box that read, barely legible, "Tubbo". He seemed to also be a hybrid, surprise surprise, yet very much different from the newest member of the family. He had small horns peeking out from his wavy brown hair and ears like that of a deer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kid looked up at Wilbur with the softest eyes the older had ever seen in his life. He almost didn't notice the rectangular pupils within the deep brown irises. He barely had time to think before the kid was wiping his nose on his sleeve and reaching out for Wilbur, standing up in his little box. Wilbur winced, knowing that they couldn't just pull another kid off the side of the street, but Phil would kill him if he didn't. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He thought for a moment and decided against just taking the kid and pulled away with a grimace. "Sorry kid we have so much to handle already. Head to the village, m’k? They'll take care of you until your parents get you." He pointed to the village in question. "Be safe." His gaze lingered on the kid, a pang settling in his very soul as soon as he said the words. God dammit he really didn't want to leave this kid, but he knew Phil would take him on the moment he saw him. Wilbur felt he needed to be the impulse control for him, they couldn't take care of two kids. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He initially didn't notice the soft patter of feet behind him as he left as he was practically entirely stuck within his own mind in worry about whoever this kid was. Well, initially may have been a stretch. He was unknowingly being trailed for almost a full five more minutes before he realized there was something wrong, so he turned. And there the kid was, obviously trying hard to match the exact pace and make no noise. He'd done surprisingly well to be fair. Wilbur sighed in exasperation, pausing in his step for the moment, "Kid, seriously, I don't know if we can-" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Just…" The kid started, cutting Wilbur off, "Just dinner? I'll leave after, promise!" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur couldn't possibly say no now. There was absolutely zero way he could even attempt to deny the kid when all he wanted was food. Hell, he could have more than one meal if he asked. Wilbur was becoming a push-over, his only solace was knowing Techno probably also couldn't have said no. "Alright, c'mon. It's about to start getting cold and that doesn't look too warm." He smiled softly, glancing at the tree line to avoid eye contact, and began to walk again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kid's eyes lit up and he certainly gained a little bit of a pep in his step. "I'm Tubbo," he greeted quickly, moving up a bit to walk beside Wilbur. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Wilbur," the taller replied. "I saw your name on the box. How long’ve you been out here?" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"I dunno, it's been a while," Tubbo said nonchalantly with a shrug, still very deliberately keeping  an identical pace to Wilbur. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur sighed through his teeth, definitely glad he'd finally caved. Screw Phil for having no impulse control over his adoption obsession and screw Techno's practically prophesied complaints; Wilbur would have never forgiven himself. He certainly wouldn't pretend this was an instant yes, of course, and he wouldn't ever deny how selfish he was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the walk had been in relative silence. Wilbur didn't ask questions about the scabs on Tubbo's knees or elbows, and Tubbo didn't say anything at all regarding anything Wilbur was internally wondering. The noise only came when Wilbur entered the house with Tubbo beside him. The child was looking around the building, his eyes wide with interest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Techno was at the kitchen table and instantly zeroed in on the unfamiliar face, "Another stray?" He almost sounded exasperated, at least to the trained ear of one that had heard all renditions of his emotionless voice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Phil's head instantly poked out from around the corner at the comment, "Who's this, mate?" He raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowed slightly with uncertainty.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"This is Tubbo," Wilbur breathed, "Found him quite literally in a box on the side of the path.” He paused, looking down solemnly, then as an afterthought added, “Crying.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Phil and Techno looked at each other and seemed to have some form of telepathic fight for a moment. Tubbo looked like he was about to cry. 'Tommy' seemed to take that exact moment from upstairs to begin throwing things at the wall again. Tubbo looked at the ceiling as if scrutinizing it enough would answer his questions about the noise. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"I promised him dinner," Wilbur offered, ignoring the background sound for the time being.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Phil's expression broke, and before Techno could even get a single word in edgewise, the eldest gestured for Tubbo to come further inside, "Good thing it's ready then, you like rice?" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tubbo eyes widened in awe and nodded vigorously with a small innocent smile, tentatively following Phil as he walked into the dining room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur met Techno's gaze and upon noting his very obvious glower, he shook his head, silently telling him to let the kid eat. Techno shrugged and broke the momentary staring contest to look up towards Phil as he returned with plates of food, Tubbo carrying a couple himself. The kid certainly looked proud. Just one night, Wilbur promised himself. Just one, he had to focus on getting ‘Tommy’ comfortable with his new family. Tubbo would be safe at the village. Wilbur sat down, ready to finally eat as the food was served. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you guys once again for all the support- your comments are *so* much fun to read over and reply to TwT</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Toleration</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter was honestly ridiculous for my beta, so many many kudos to her- my ability to write Techno's POV is basically -7, so it was *rough* to say the least </p>
<p>I also added a little more chat in this chapter! Messed around with how I'd show that whole thing off, and hopefully the formatting is okay? If it sucks, lmk lol!!</p>
<p>Super excited to get this one out tho! Some stuff is starting to roll into place, slowly but surely! </p>
<p>Hope you enjoy this chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If one stray brat hadn't been enough, now there was another added to the mix. Techno couldn't have argued more with Phil over the constant conversation about bringing Tubbo into the family. Wilbur had been smart enough to simply leave the house as soon as he could to let the argument blow over so he wouldn’t have to get involved. Techno wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't about to let Phil fall into some haze over new children popping, quite legitimately, out of nowhere. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The voices disagreed with Techno, which was frustrating in it's own right. While there were the select few that shouted about how 'large' his brain was, the rest seemed to only be shouting varieties of 'BOO' and 'awwww', the latter was something he wasn't used to hearing, and he found there to be little evidence connecting it to anything but Tubbo's appearance. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>This eternal argument lasted a full week until Phil finally pulled the, "I'm your father and what I say goes" trick and rooted the entire argument up like some weed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno should've seen it coming the moment Tubbo continued returning to their house, a silent request to have dinner with them every night. He always acted like a child that had never done anything wrong in his entire life. Innocent smiles, constant offerings to help with anything at all… He played it off like he was a picture-perfect child . Technoblade wouldn’t intervene, he was simply waiting for the kid to show his true colours. It was only a matter of time now due to the fact that as of two nights ago, Phil explained to Tubbo that he was welcome to join the family. Tubbo had gotten what he wanted, now he was free to take off the mask. Techno was watching closely for that exact moment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The piglin hybrid held a certain amount of respect for Wilbur through this whole experience. He'd been calmly vocal about his frustration about the new child, but only spoke about it to Techno. He seemed afraid of Tommy's life being shoved down the list of priorities when he was frankly the person the entire house needed to focus on the most. He'd outright said during one of their late night chats, in no more than a bitter whisper, "I think Phil's attention is and always will be taken by the next big thing, regardless of how important it is. This goat brat has taken over an entire seven god damn days, and all Phil's fucking done is feed Tommy. We're not getting anywhere with him." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno agreed, of course, but he was just looking for normalcy. He began with the belief that Phil shouldn't have even tried with Tommy and instead should simply have left him in the forest, he still holds onto that belief. Wilbur was certainly doing more about his own thought process though, he continued to leave the guest room with more injuries than before, but also with a promise that he was getting closer. He never said what he was closer to, but at least he felt like he was doing something. Techno was getting used to hearing soft guitar cords near that room, it even sounded like Wilbur was making an entirely new song. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno exhaled softly from his spot at the kitchen table. He tended to use it as a place to simply sit in silence when there wasn't food to be had, when no one else was there. It was him, his thoughts, and the voices. Thankfully those voices all seemed to pitter into little to nothing when he began reading, as if they'd become bored. This afternoon he was reading a book simply titled, "Twins". It was amusingly short, settling at 126 pages, but at the very least it gave a little insight on some things he wanted to figure out. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sure, Phil was not having twins. These children were not newborns, and they certainly weren't related. However, there were small things within the book that gave way to properly prioritizing both children, and that in itself was the most important piece. There was no way Techno could fight to have Phil give up both kids, so he may as well fight for Wilbur's cause. He was sure he owed him a favour somewhere. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He stood to get a glass of water, only to hear soft mumbling, then a giggle. He paused, frowning to himself. The giggling certainly sounded like Tubbo. He waited a moment before deciding against using his energy to hydrate, and instead went to see what was going on upstairs. He started up and turned to look down the hallway, immediately noticing Tubbo kneeling in front of the door belonging to the guest bedroom. Techno tilted his head in light confusion and continued walking towards the guest room. He grunted softly and felt some form of pride upon noting Tubbo's jump of surprise. The ram hybrid turned quickly and looked up at Techno, then pulled his fingers back from underneath the door. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"S-sorry," Tubbo started, standing slowly, still shocked at the sudden appearance of Techno. His ears were practically pressed to the sides of his head at this point, and he was very deliberately looking down to his feet in embarrassment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Why?” Techno raised a brow,”You weren't doin’ anythin," Techno replied simply. He'd truly just wanted to see what was going on, especially since it had been concerning Tubbo. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, Da- uh, Phil said not to bother Tommy! Said he didn't feel good." He looked to the side before glancing back down at his shoes to continue staring as if looking at them hard enough would make Techno disappear. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>'HE ALMOST CALLED HIM DAD'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'AWWWW'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'ew'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'HES ADORABLE'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'PROTECT THE CHILD'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'PROTECT'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'DADZA'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘PROTECT’</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno sighed, ignoring the yelling inside his head, "Still weren't doin’ anythin’, do whatever you want, just don't go inside. Should be fine." He shrugged nonchalantly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo finally looked up at Techno and his initial frown spread into a huge grin, he nodded happily. "Thank you!" He beamed and dropped down to his knees again, turning towards the door in excitement</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In that moment Techno realized the mumbling hadn't been mumbling at all, and instead had been… Chirping? Tubbo was quite literally trying to recreate a sound Techno had heard Tommy make before. The moment Tommy responded in kind and shoved his own fingers under the door as well, everything clicked together for Techno; they were playing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>'EEEEE'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'Theyre adorable!!!!'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'KILL THEM BOTH'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD KING’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘HE CHIRPS!!’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘BIRD CHIRP’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'BIRD'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'CHIRP CHIRP'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'CHIRP'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'CHIRP'</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'CHIRP'</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno let out a soft huff, the chorus of chirps just barely covering the sounds of additional shouting inside his skull. He began to realize that it might have been a good thing that Tubbo had joined the household. He was the only one fully prepared to try and learn how to interact with Tommy in a way that the raccoon hybrid could understand. The fact that Tommy was even interested in chittering back meant more than anything, he was warming up to Tubbo quickly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had yet to see each other face to face, after the many times of Wilbur being relentlessly attacked, Phil wasn't comfortable letting a child in to the room with a feral racoon hybrid just yet. He wasn't comfortable letting anyone in, truthfully, but Wilbur had snuck in regardless. By this point he had given up and was letting Wilbur just feed the kid, too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno watched as Tubbo continued communicating with Tommy through the door and pushing his fingers under it until he finally became bored and turned to go back downstairs. It was about time he actually got himself a glass of water anyways. He made one more parting glance at the retreating form of Tubbo, then headed downstairs to the kitchen. When he made it down to the ground level he noticed Phil standing near the stove, cooking something in a pot. It smelled like lunch to Techno, and not a moment too soon, he was starting to get a little hungry. He grabbed a glass and went to fill it, glancing to Phil as he did so. "Tubbo's messing around with Tommy," Techno mumbled, heading back to the table to sit again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil paused for a moment with whatever he was doing and made a soft sound of intrigue. "Really? Told him not to go in his room." He began cooking once more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He's not really in it," Techno replied, raising the water cup to his lips, "He's stickin’ his fingers under the door 'n making noises at him. Tommy sounds entertained." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "Good to hear they're getting along. Will was saying Tommy's getting better about people, he mentioned it might be safe to let Tubbo meet him soon." He turned to face Techno, very obviously smiling. There was a little glow of uncertainty in his eyes, but for the most part there was excitement and pride. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I can supervise if you want. Tommy’s not hard to handle," Techno offered easily, pulling his book back towards him and opening it to find his page. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I haven't been letting you bring him food for a reason, mate. He's probably scared of you." Phil sighed softly through his nose and glanced out the window, "I was gonna wait to let him warm up to everyone first." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>'HE SHOULD BE :)' </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'awwww noooo' </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'awwww' </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>'E' </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘TECHNOSPOOK’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘We’d give him good cuddles :(‘</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno finally found his page, very deliberately ignoring the voices and the fact that his own adopted brother was scared of him. He was just a dumb kid with absolutely horrifying hair. He grunted,"Fair.” He glanced up, deciding to mention it.“What's your plan with the matted hair 'n everything? Thought you'd take care of that sooner." He looked back down to his book.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil shifted his weight slowly, "Well,” He started, “I was gonna wait on that too. Didn't want to scare him or take away the few things he was familiar with." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Can't put everythin’ off, Phil," Techno pointed out. The lack of response spoke volumes, but Techno wasn't going to mention it. He instead went back to his book and completely pulled his attention away from the former conversation. There wasn't any point in making a big deal out of it and it’d take more effort than needed. Phil was stubborn, like everyone else in this house.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno was given close to half an hour of silence before a bowl of broth was placed in front of him. He looked at it for a moment before looking up to lock eyes with Phil. He narrowed his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>‘HAHA THE TRASH HAMPSTER’S GONNA CLAW YOUR EYES OUT’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘DADZA TRUST POG?’</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You should bring this upstairs," Phil answered the silent question. He was smiling, but there was definitely unmasked trepidation on his face, his eyebrows pinched slightly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno stood silently, closing his book and putting it back on the table. He took the bowl of broth, then reached out to take the small slice of bread Phil was now offering before turning. They'd started Tommy on actually solid foods as of the day before, and thus far he didn't seem to be responding negatively to it. Techno was very much aware of the fact that he was hiding every ounce of worry inside him. It was a weed at best, but he couldn't just burn it and let it go. Tommy was scared of him, scared of his brother, and that wasn't right. Regardless, he was now supposed to bring him food and hope it settled scores? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He made his way upstairs slowly with the piece of bread and the bowl in hand, sighing softly to himself upon noting that Tubbo was still sitting in front of the door. It was a welcome distraction from his thoughts at the very least. Tubbo turned around sharply when Techno deliberately stepped a little louder than usual, letting out a soft huff. The kid looked like he was about to say something, then realization seemed to dawn on him and he stood up quickly. "Tommy! Lunch's here for you!" He called out towards the door, then walked past Techno and stood further down the hall, watching on like the room was a zoo exhibit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno was a little surprised by the comment to say the least, but didn't say anything about it and instead pushed the door open. He very much intentionally made sure that he was blocking the exit, and realized as soon as the door was opened that it was a very good idea. It felt as if a dog had run full force into his legs, and the responding sharp exhale of air sounded almost like it had been a dog as Tommy fell backwards on his tail. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno pushed through the door and closed it quickly behind him as Tommy tried to right himself. He made his way over to a previously used bowl and placed the new one along with the bread in the same spot, taking the empty one. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As he turned, Tommy had shoved himself back into one of the corners of the room. He was shaking ever so slightly, and very obviously trying to somehow make himself look bigger. Techno sighed and stopped moving, simply looking in Tommy's general direction. "Hi," he mumbled, "I'm not plannin’ on hurtin’ you." Sure, he knew Tommy didn't understand a word he was saying, but hey, at least he was saying it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tommy didn't make a single noise in response, only keeping his gaze locked on Techno. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno frowned ever so slightly and sank to the floor, deciding that at the very least he may as well make himself 'shorter'. He remembered previous conversations he had with Wilbur, the human pointing out that a big piglin with a “resting bitch face” probably terrified the small hybrid and that he had seen somewhere that making yourself smaller would make the other person feel less intimidated. He crossed his legs and sat on the carpet and decided after a few moments to close his eyes and wait for something to happen after noticing Tommy’s suspicious glare.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just before Techno was about to give up and stand to leave, deeming Wilbur’s direction usless and idiotic, there was avery distinct feeling of fingers on his left ear. One part of him, the parthe usually listened to, wanted nothing more than to grasp Tommy's wrist and direct his hand away, but the other, smaller, part of him felt it was probably best to let the kid do as he wished for the time being. He calls it his inner Phil, a side effect of somehow becoming attached to a soft, emotionally-driven man. It would get the kid used to being able to interact with Techno, he supposed, and at the very least he might end up less scared. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, the piglin hybrid simply kept his eyes closed and let the kid inspect any part of Techno that piqued his interest. He only pulled away when there was an attempt made to pull on his tusks. The resulting squeak and tumble backwards made Techno release a low chuckle as his eyes finally fluttered open. Tommy certainly wasn't as afraid anymore. There was still a very notable tension to his muscles, and he was keeping a very intentional gaze on Techno, but he wasn't shaking anymore. Progress. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>‘TECHNOSOFT’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘AWWWWWW’</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>‘THEYRE SO CUUUUTE’</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno slowly pushed himself to his feet before gesturing towards the bowl of broth he'd placed on the floor. "Food," he prompted, then took the empty bowl once more. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tommy blinked slowly, sniffing but still keeping an eye on Techno, then finally began to inch slowly towards the bowl, making soft chittering noises under his breath. The voices even seemed to go completely silent as if waiting to see what happened. A moment passed, then Tommy finally took his gaze completely off of Techno and closed the distance with the food. He settled on his haunches and lifted the bowl in his hands carefully, then began to drink the broth. It was interesting, he had somehow determined that drinking it much like a human would was smartest, but he was holding it on his palms with his fingers pressed to the side of the bowl furthest from his face. Every part of the sight was both very human and not at all human. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno gave a small nod of approval and turned back towards the door, opening it just enough to get through, then closing and locking it once more. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo was still on the other side, standing against the wall expectantly. "That took a while," he commented bluntly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kid was scared," Techno explained simply and walked by Tubbo, not sparing the 11 year old a glance. "Gave him somethin’ to eat." With that, he continued walking and went to put the used bowl downstairs in the sink. Phil wasn't in the kitchen anymore, and was probably outside. He seemed to be out there an awful lot lately.. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno felt accomplished at the very least. It may have been a small accomplishment, but he had begun to realize what Wilbur meant when he said he was getting closer. There wasn't an exact end point to raising a kid, but it still felt like there were milestones being reached. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you guys once again for all the support- holy cow, I love seeing every last one of your comments!! <br/> See you next week!</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>By the way, (shameless plug), if you guys wanna see me play some games on occasion, I've got a Twitch up and running! :eyes:</p>
<p>
  <a href="https://twitch.tv/deathbysyrup">https://twitch.tv/deathbysyrup</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. And Then There Were Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Y'know how I said a week then ceased to exist for a while <br/>yeah, well, I'm back!! </p>
<p>This chapter was like pulling teeth with a cotton ball, and while I'm not 100% happy with it, my editor said it was good so I won't push it off to work on it even longer, I promise </p>
<p>This is the first Tubbo POV! I'm hoping I got him right for the most part, he's even harder to write than Techno I swear </p>
<p>Anyways! Enjoy the chapter! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the third morning of waking up in a strange house, one would presume that Tubbo would be used to it. That certainly didn't mean he was, and he was almost worried that he'd never be used to waking up in this new bed. Hewanted to think he just missed the glowing plastic stars on his ceiling, but subconsciously he knew for a fact he just missed his dad. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Regardless of what he missed, he was waking up slowly in a quiet he couldn't get used to. No uproarious laughter, no shouting at nothing, just quiet. He slid out from under his sheets and made his bed quickly- and a bit messily, really- before leaving his bedroom to head to the kitchen. It was still relatively early, early enough that Wilbur would be asleep and Techno would be pretending he was sleeping to make people stop bothering him. Phil would be up, though, he always seemed to be up when Tubbo was. Maybe it was just a parent thing, his dad used to do that too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As was normal at this point, when Tubbo came downstairs rubbing his eyes, Phil was sitting on the couch nearest to the staircase, seemingly staring off into nothing with a cup of tea in his hands. He glanced over and blinked upon noticing Tubbo's presence before smiling , pushing himself to his feet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Morning, mate! How'd you sleep?" Phil motioned him to the kitchen and began to make his way over himself, setting his mug on the counter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo beamed in response, following behind quickly. Cooking with Phil had to be his favourite morning activity. "Good! I slept through the whole night this time!" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil nodded with a soft smile, pulling a box of pancake mix from the pantry alongside the other random food items needed to make it into actual pancake batter. "That's good to hear, did the extra blankets help?" He reached up to grab a large bowl and a whisk, "Can you get the pan out for me?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo nodded and knelt down to open the cupboard with the pans in it, "They did! Thanks, by the way!" He grabbed the pan in question and handed it off to Phil. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No problem at all, mate. I'm just glad you're sleeping." His smile widened slightly and began to start incorporating the ingredients necessary for the pancakes into a separate bowl. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo watched beside him as he leaned his arms on the counter, ever curious about anything Phil made. It was a very rare moment that Tubbo was given the go ahead to make the main part of the meal. When he was lucky, he got to help with side dishes and such. Truthfully, at the end of the day, he just liked helping. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil shook his wings behind him unconsciously as he worked on the batter, and Tubbo had to repress every urge inside him to touch the feathers. They looked so soft. He'd been too afraid to ask if he could, worrying that he'd come off as weird or awkward, and he wasn't about to make Phil uncomfortable in the same week he was brought into the family. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He zoned out entirely for almost the full time it took for Phil to make the pancakes. It was almost autopilot; he still went about helping Phil as much as he could, but he wasn't really thinking much about it. He was snapped out of it when Phil began talking to him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"-today?" Phil was now holding a large plate of finished pancakes, about to carry them over to the table. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What?" Tubbo asked, flushing when he realized he'd not heard Phil. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I was wondering if you felt cool with meeting Tommy today," Phil repeated, starting to the table again. He put the plate down and turned back to grab syrup from the pantry. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo was silent for maybe a little too long in response, as Phil stopped what he was doing to look at him in concern. So, he shook the shock out of himself and beamed, "Yes!" Phil nodded with a little laugh and continued on his course. Tubbo was practically shaking with excitement at this point, a warm feeling of anticipation and joy in his very soul. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He'd waited impatiently for this comment to finally be made, a promise that he could see Tommy. He had been a little frustrated, truthfully, that everyone in the house except for him was allowed to see Tommy. He was supposed to be his new brother, right? Why couldn't he see his brother? And now here he was, about to be able to see him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Good," Phil replied, "Then how about we call Wilbur and Techno down for breakfast so we can see him after?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo's grin only widened, and he nodded excitedly. He turned sharply to rush upstairs and to Techno's room, knocking loudly. "Breakfast!" he called, then changed course to knock on Wilbur's door, shouting the same sentiment. Upon knocking on Wilbur's door he was <em>sure</em> he heard a word he wasn't supposed to. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He basically skipped back downstairs, getting back to the kitchen and helping Phil finish setting the table before sitting down. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno was the first to make it down, already fully dressed and looking ready to fight mobs if the day called for it. He pulled out his own chair and quickly began helping himself before Phil sighed softly. Tubbo glanced over to Phil in curiosity and was given no response. A few moments passed, and just before Tubbo was about to begin eating, Phil cupped his hands by his mouth and looked towards the staircase. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wil! Get your ass down here!” Phil shouted up the stairs. Tubbo noted Techno’s lips quirking up into a smirk, then saw him very deliberately force the smirk away. After another few seconds, Phil yelled again,”Wilbur Soot Minecraft!” Tubbo’s eyes widened and he hid a smile behind his hand, trying his best not to giggle. He'd been cuffed by a tired Wilbur for that a couple mornings ago. This was the first time Phil had to use the boys full name, and honestly, Tubbo wouldn’t be surprised if Phil would start counting if Wilbur didn’t come down quick enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, the teen of the hour walked down the staircase with an expression that could only be described as dead. He was wearing his pajamas and as he sat down, looked Phil in the eyes, not breaking eye contact as he ran a hand through his untidy post-sleep hair. “G’mornin’,” he mumbled, scowling and looked down at the food.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil smiled,”Nice of you to join us," he said, a slight lilt in his tone of sarcasm, "How'd you sleep?” This was a normal conversation, it had become a household tradition that Wilbur would be the last down at the table in the morning. He hadn't a single complaint, it was starting a new normal and he was attaching himself to the idea of said normal like velcro. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wilbur simply grunted in response and shoved a pancake into his mouth, Tubbo’s jaw dropping at the savagery of it. “You- you didn’t put any syrup on! You’ve done it wrong!” Wilbur looked up at Tubbo with an unperturbed expression before cramming more utterly dry pancake into his mouth, maintaining eye contact through the entire process. That seemed to be a trend in the morning as well, the unnerving stares that no one knew whether they were judgemental or if he was just spacing out with his eyes pointed in their direction. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Breakfast went by quickly, especially with how excited Tubbo was for the coming day. As per usual, Techno didn't speak a word in his direction. Wilbur asked him why he was moving so much, and he simply explained that Phil wanted him to help out with some stuff. Wilbur seemed to take the answer, at the very least, even if Phil's expression twisted into one of confusion. Maybe he wasn't supposed to lie about it? Phil hadn't corrected him, however, so he supposed he couldn't have been completely off base. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Techno finished quickly, more quickly than usual, explaining to Phil when asked that he was going out to spar with a buddy. There was a flame in his eye that Tubbo was more than happy wasn't directed at him. It was a little scary, truthfully. Wilbur finished at his normal pace and excused himself to return upstairs, probably to get himself ready for the day at hand. That left Phil and Tubbo at the table, who each finished their meals and got to work clearing the kitchen. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was a simple process, clear the table, wash the dishes, spot clean all the areas that had been used, and it was done. It certainly didn't take long, and the moment it was finished Phil turned and ruffled Tubbo's hair gently, "Let's go see your brother, hm mate?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo couldn't help but grin hard enough to hurt and begin to bounce on his toes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil headed upstairs with Tubbo trailing behind excitedly, the young hybrid practically shaking in anticipation. He was expecting them to just go into the room once they got to the door, but as they neared the door Phil turned and put a hand on Tubbo's shoulder. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Just wanna clear some stuff up, mate. He doesn't know any english right now, but we talk to him anyways to get him used to it. If he gets a little violent or pissed off, we gotta leave." He looked very much serious about the entire situation, and it almost made Tubbo a little scared. Almost. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Okay!" Tubbo chirped in response, still grinning hard. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Alright," Phil replied and turned to the door, knocking on it gently with his knuckles, "Morning Tommy!" And with that, he opened the door. He made a block with his body as he ushered Tubbo inside, just in case Tommy tried to escape. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo headed inside and met Tommy's gaze immediately. His appearance… hurt. That's all he could describe it as. Tommy looked <em>exhausted</em>, like there were perpetual rings under his eyes. His hair most likely would have been visually three times longer if it wasn't for how bad it was matted, not to mention the leaves still stuck there. It was a surprise the raccoon hybrid could even hear anything, his ears were barely visible under his hair. He was skinny, oh so skinny, only now wearing a simple t-shirt and pants that fit relatively. He was sitting calmly on his haunches, his hands pressed firmly to the ground in front of him. The look in his eyes was wholeheartedly wild, like he still hadn't lost the animal side of him, like he <em>never</em> would. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Regardless, it changed nothing about his pure joy at seeing his brother for the first time. "Hey Tommy," he greeted softly, smiling, then proceeded to chitter what he'd learned to some extent had to be a greeting. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tommy tilted his head, his expression shifting from one of wariness and confusion to one of realization and excitement. For a moment the animalistic gleam of wildness gave way to something human. That, at the very least, made Tubbo's last bit of trepidation fade. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The raccoon hybrid inched his way foreward, making a soft sound that almost sounded like a word. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo grinned and knelt down, holding his hands out, shocked when Tommy closed the distance and sat, holding his own hands out and intertwining his fingers with Tubbo's. He was smiling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo completely forgot about Phil even being there and squeezed Tommy's hands gently, chittering away in a language he barely understood. Tommy seemed content in speaking what he knew, even if Tubbo didn't understand basically anything. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was what home was supposed to be. This was warmth, this was happiness, this was more than Tubbo ever thought he'd ever have. For a moment, that part of his soul that cried out for his dad was silent. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil let the boys stay in the room for about three hours, staying in with them, of course. He wasn't about to simply leave Tubbo with a kid that occasionally lost his shit. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tubbo and Tommy built towers out of some small blocks Phil brought down from the attic days before. No matter how tall Tubbo made his, always with good supports and making sure that nothing but deliberate destruction could knock it down, Tommy always tried to make his taller. Tommy's, however, had no support whatsoever and were only built with the interest of height. A simple breath in the wrong direction toppled his towers like they were nothing, and every single time Tommy did nothing but throw a fit and knock down Tubbo's towers. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The one time Tubbo knocked his own down, he let out a loud, "Shit!" only for Tommy to catch on and echo the exact sound like some parrot. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phil's laugh probably resounded through the entire house. Of all the words Tommy could possibly choose to catch on first, it had to be 'shit'. It didn't help that both boys were more than amused by the laughter and continued to repeat it. They amused themselves with the word for probably the next 10 minutes, and nothing Phil did would make them stop. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>By the time their visit hit the two hour mark, about when Phil was originally going to call it to a close, Tommy had shown Tubbo his little nest out of blankets and pillows on the floor near the bed. The two had engaged in some sort of conversation and promptly fallen asleep entangled in a small heap. How Tubbo could possibly be sleeping after already resting well the night before, Phil had no idea, but he wasn't about to wake them up. Especially when Tommy's eye bags looked like they might have simply been black holes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, Phil let them sleep, sitting with his back pressed to the door and a proud smile on his face. His kids were getting along. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I totally saw a comment mentioning that Tommy would start learning cuss words and never turn back, and RAN with it </p>
<p>Your support and comments full of love, theories, and just general vibes brighten my day I stg<br/>love y'all so much</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bathing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Woo! New chapter!<br/>This one is just pure unadulterated fluff again, I just love writing Tommy vibing with his family :') </p><p>Sadly, this is the last super fluffy chapter for a little while- some shit may or may not go down next chapter that'll shift some stuff for a little while </p><p>but! Take this in the meantime, and this chapter is basically 1k more than normal, so I hope it makes up for my awful posting schedule!!</p><p>(Small TW in end notes)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey mate," </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur was quite literally thrown out of his restful slumber by Phil with those simple words. He inhaled sharply and opened his eyes, glaring daggers at the older man in his doorway. "What," he muttered, scathingly. Every part of him wanted nothing more than to simply flip Phil off and turn over, but he knew inherently that if the man was waking him up it was important. </p><p> </p><p>"I need your help with Tommy today, mind getting up?" Phil said, his tone deliberately pressed to sound biting, as if that would help Wilbur go along with his 'request'. He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur made a show of letting his head fall back into his pillow, closing his eyes and groaning as if he were about to die. "Yeah, I guess." After speaking, he didn't move a muscle, peaking ever so slightly out at Phil. </p><p> </p><p>Phil had raised an eyebrow, seeming almost amused, and stayed in place silently for a few moments. "Okay, hurry up will you?" He snorted as he went to close the door, doing so a little harder than necessary. Whether the man was legitimately short tempered this morning or not, Wilbur wasn't going to test it. </p><p> </p><p>He pushed himself out of bed slowly, running his hands through his hair as if it would count as brushing it. He tugged off his night clothes and donned something simple for the day, a t-shirt and some jeans, and made his way out of his room. By the sound of Phil's voice down the hallway, it seemed he was already in Tommy's room. It was a fast paced day, apparently. That only meant Wilbur was going to have to wake himself up, and fast, in order to catch up with everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>He made his way down the hallway and knocked on Tommy's door softly, waiting the moment it took for Phil to let him in. He stepped into the room, and met Tommy's gaze. The little brat gave him a look of pure distain covering something else Wilbur couldn't determine, and the older boy gave the look right back. </p><p> </p><p>As they set about their staring contest, Phil chuckled breathily and rolled his eyes. "Can you two work with me today?" he asked, a definite tone of non-belief in his voice. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur decidedly blinked first, actively ignoring Tommy's half chirp of, "YES". He looked over to Phil and shrugged, "Can I? I think you'd have to be th-" </p><p> </p><p>Phil cut him off with a barely concealed glare, "Tommy's getting a bath today." </p><p> </p><p>How Tommy got the memo to go just as silent as Wilbur did was beyond any in the room, but the silence was resounding regardless. </p><p> </p><p>"I have to help you do this on an empty stomach?" </p><p> </p><p>"It's 1 in the afternoon, mate, you decided to cuss at Tubbo this morning instead of getting up to eat," Phil reminded him with a shrug, "So yes, you do. I need to get it done sooner rather than later." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur groaned, slouching, "You're a little shit," he mumbled, pointing directly at Tommy. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy bared his teeth, though there was a glint of amusement in his eyes, and he hissed a soft, "Shit." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded, very slowly putting his arm down, "Yeah, shit." </p><p> </p><p>Phil chuckled and shook his head, "So, shall we?" </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur frowned and walked towards Tommy, holding his hand out towards the younger boy. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy, borderline habitually at this point, reached up and took Wilbur's hand in his own. He clasped his fingers around the other boy's hand a little tightly, but it was truthfully normal at this point.</p><p> </p><p>Phil stayed silent for a moment until Wilbur gave him a small nod, and opened the door. Both the older males tensed, stopping their breaths for a moment. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy blinked, looked up at Wilbur, almost nervous. </p><p> </p><p>Just as Wilbur was about to let out his breath and begin ushering Tommy towards the door, the hybrid bolted. He let go of the older male's hand and ran as fast as his arms and legs could carry him. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, he only got about 5 feet before tripping over Phil's foot and toppling head over tail through the doorway. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur rushed forward and reached down to lift Tommy into his arms. He was lanky and hard to carry, but at the very least he couldn't easily bolt again. It certainly came to a surprise that there was no clawing or biting, however, instead Tommy began chittering softly. Instead of anger or fear, it seemed to simply be confusion. </p><p> </p><p>"Listen kid, you can't just go running the moment that door opens," Wilbur began, beginning his walk towards the bathroom, "First time out and all that is cool, but you still can't. We're just getting you a bath cause you smell like the shit you are."  </p><p> </p><p>Tommy made a sound like he'd been shot in the groin, and became nothing but dead weight. Whether he understood what had been said completely or not, he'd apparently gotten the general gist and decided it was time to make Wilbur's life as difficult as it could be. </p><p> </p><p>And truthfully, Tommy as dead weight was not a fun experience. In fact, he almost dropped the kid, and most likely would have if it weren't for Phil charging forward and bracing Wilbur's forearms. "Thanks," he mumbled, "but I think I've got him. Can you open the bathroom door?" </p><p> </p><p>Phil nodded, "Are you sure you've got him?" Even as he asked, he slowly began to pull his hands away, deciding as Wilbur nodded that the older boy knew what he was doing. He walked ahead and pushed the bathroom door open, motioning for Wilbur to come inside. </p><p> </p><p>The walking inside was certainly a needlessly difficult puzzle, as Tommy was giggling to himself while being about as helpful as a dead fish. Wilbur ended up having to turn to a ¾ angle to get the lanky bastard inside, and even then he almost hit Tommy's head on the door frame. </p><p> </p><p>He finally made it through the door, and realized very quickly that, even through the door, Tommy wasn't about to stop being unhelpful. Wilbur rolled his eyes and huffed, "Phil, can you start the water?" </p><p> </p><p>Phil nodded, "I think I can, hopefully I don't fuck it up," Wilbur rolled his eyes at the sarcasm, he could definitely hear the smile in Phil's voice as the man made his way to the tub. He turned the faucet on and held his hand underneath the water to make sure it wasn't going to be an egregiously wrong temperature. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur stood silently near the doorway, using his foot to push the door closed just in case Tommy decided he wanted out. The moment the water began to run, Tommy went from dead weight to a ball of tension. </p><p> </p><p>He shifted, pulling himself into a better position to see what was going on, using Wilbur's forearm like a support to help him up. He peered out towards the water, and the fur on his tail began to puff ever so slightly. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat, "Hey, Tommy, chill. It's just water okay?" </p><p> </p><p>Tommy jumped a slight as Wilbur spoke, then turned to look back at him. He gave a little nod, as if he understood what had been said, and seemed to make a conscious effort to relax. After a little while, he managed to calm himself, and simply watched Phil test the water a few times as it filled the tub. </p><p> </p><p>Time passed strangely both slowly and quickly. During the wait it seemed to take far too long, but once the time passed it was shocking how fast it moved. Finally, the tub was filled, and the hard part hadn't even begun. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur sighed softly through his nose and gave Phil a look of premature surrender. He moved to sit Tommy down on the lid of the toilet, and it went just about as well as attempting to sit a cat like a human. Tommy fought to pull his legs behind him instead of sitting on his rear, but Wilbur needed his feet to be accessable and needed his legs forward. </p><p> </p><p>It took frustratingly long to get Tommy to sit like a person, and by the end Wilbur was beginning to realize how hard this whole bathing thing was going to be. </p><p> </p><p>"I have to take your shirt off now, okay?" Wilbur asked, his voice soft, and pointed at his own shirt as he said the word 'shirt'. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy tilted his head slightly and gave some rendition of a shrug, most likely having no idea what he was agreeing to. He made a soft chittering noise that sounded much like his own version of surrender. </p><p> </p><p>Phil simply sat on the edge of the tub, watching the entire situation go down. He was seemingly there more for moral support than anything else. As if he knew Wilbur had a better relationship with Tommy than he did. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur began to carefully tug Tommy's shirt off, shifting his arms through the holes and going slowly as he pulled it over Tommy's head. He hadn't been the one to redress him, so the sight he was greeted with practically punched him in the gut. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy's ribs were far more than 'fairly obvious', they were almost sculpted into his torso as if they were supposed to be something external. He had scrapes and deep bruises decorating almost every part of him, and a few scars littered his skin. Wilbur was fairly certain that saying it looked like Tommy fell through a thorned bush would be too accurate. How the bruises and scrapes were still unhealed after being away from most any danger for going on almost two weeks now was beyond Wilbur. He could only assume it meant Tommy wasn't getting the nutrients he needed. </p><p> </p><p>"Phil, we need to upgrade his diet," Wilbur mumbled, "and I don't mean soon. I mean today." </p><p> </p><p>All he was met with was a hum of approval. Wilbur had to stop himself from frowning or showing even a hint of frustration at that. He was tired of Phil caring seemingly so little about Tommy. The kid looked like he was basically starved to death. </p><p> </p><p>"Okay, now your pants, kid." He pointed to his own pants as he said the word, and Tommy seemed to get the hint rather quickly. He shifted his weight and pushed himself up to help Wilbur tug his pants off without much resistance. As they were tugged away, more of the same markings were shown, and the same amount of frank malnourishment was obvious. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur couldn't help but wince and run a hand down his face for a moment. As the moment passed, he met Tommy's gaze and lifted him simply from under his arm pits. He started to move him towards the tub, and Tommy instantly froze again. </p><p> </p><p>"No," he exclaimed, the loudest noise other than the former laughter that he'd made since leaving his room. "No," he repeated, looking directly at the water. </p><p> </p><p>"Yes," Wilbur argued, "We have to get you clean." </p><p> </p><p>Tommy shook his head, "No," he repeated once more. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur sighed, kneeling down by the tub, still holding onto Tommy. "Look," he began, letting Tommy free of his hold for the moment. He put his hand in the water that had filled the tub, then pulled it back out and flicked the droplets on his hand into Tommy's face, "It's fine. Just water." </p><p> </p><p>Tommy flinched as the droplets hit his face, and hissed in surprise. He shook his head wildly for a moment, then met Wilbur's gaze again. "Water," he echoed, looking to said water. He put his own hand in, and instead of pulling it straight back out, began to outstretch his fingers and clench them together. Finally, he removed his hand, and quickly began rubbing his face as if cleaning it. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur snorted in surprise, reaching out to take Tommy's wrist, "No," he chuckled, "you're getting in there so I can help clean you up." </p><p> </p><p>Tommy paused, peering curiously at Wilbur. His tail began to softly tap the tiles on the floor, almost like a cat. "In?" he asked slowly, then it dawned on him what the context of the word normally was. He frowned and looked to the water slowly. </p><p> </p><p>"In," Wilbur agreed, "Want me to help?" </p><p> </p><p>Tommy looked back to Wilbur once more, and considered his options for a moment. "No," he mumbled, then slowly pushed himself off of his haunches and leaned halfway over the wall of the tub. He sat in still silence for a few minutes, then pushed his forearms into the water until his palms touched the floor of the tub. He stood slowly, and awkwardly climbed in, realising only too late that he hadn't accounted for his head meeting the water and ended up with his face completely submerged into the water. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur couldn't help but laugh, trying through his giggles to help Tommy get situated. It didn't help that Phil wasn't helping in the slightest. He'd basically taken a back seat in the whole ordeal and it truthfully pissed Wilbur off. "Can you get him more clothes? Maybe scissors too, I don't know if I can work through the hair." </p><p> </p><p>"Mh?" Phil breathed, confused for a moment, then the words caught up with him and he nodded, standing. "Yeah! Of course. I'll be back." And with that, he left to obtain the items. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur got to work immediately, trying his best to be slow and careful. Tommy was fairly easy to work with before he got used to the experience, he was practically frozen and mute, letting Wilbur do what he pleased. However, as he started to get more used to the situation Wilbur had a much harder time. He was having to avoid being splashed constantly, had to keep Tommy still, had to keep Tommy from eating or chewing on things. All in all, it was a chaotic mess. Wilbur hadn't even noticed when Phil returned, completely focused on the task at hand.</p><p> </p><p>By the time he finished cleaning Tommy up, the hybrid had mostly gotten over his excitement over the water, and was instead becoming tired. That was once more far better to deal with, but significantly more exciting as Tommy was chittering away as if Wilbur understood a word he was saying. At least he was enjoying himself. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur then went to begin trying to work through the matted mess that was Tommy's hair. He tried his best not to tug on anything, regardless of how hard it was, and still failed miserably. The first time he pulled something, Tommy shrieked and tried to fumble his way out of the tub. Thankfully Wilbur was able to convince him to stay in it, but the hair issue was ridiculous. It came to the point that the water was no longer warm, and Wilbur needed to make sure Tommy didn't get cold. So, he began to drain the water and maneuvered Tommy back onto the lid of the toilet. He toweled him down carefully, making sure not to leave any part wet and helped him don his new clothes; a white shirt with red sleeves, and khaki pants. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur proceeded to talk Tommy through a full hour and a half of attempting to get his hair brushed. By the hour and a half mark Wilbur finally gave up, he turned and asked Phil to please make sure Tommy wouldn't get his hands in the way as Wilbur cut his hair off. </p><p> </p><p>The older teen initially started out with about half of it, trying to detangle the half left - it didn't work. So, he cut half of that off. He got significantly closer, but it was still an issue. By the end of the experience, he'd cut off practically all of Tommy's hair and been able to leave a small bit on top to give some volume without having to shave everything. The portions around the raccoon-like ears had to have been the hardest to navigate. He certainly congratulated himself for not hurting them in the slightest. He'd been able to untangle the remaining hair to the best of his ability, and while it was certainly damaged and unhealthy, it was a huge improvement from what it used to be. He looked less like a wild animal, and more like a kid.</p><p> </p><p>Tommy met Wilbur's gaze with the expression of a kid bored to his wits end. He looked exhausted, hungry, and ready to find anything at all to entertain him. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur chuckled and without thinking ruffled the younger boy's hair. "You're looking pretty dapper, kid," he smiled and lifted him back up into his arms. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy grasped onto Wilbur's shirt tightly and smiled as he was pulled closer. "Dapper. Good sound," he hummed thoughtfully and decidedly didn't make the whole ordeal of leaving the bathroom as much of an issue as it had been going in. </p><p> </p><p>Now he was clean, looking more like a teen boy and less like a wild animal or some mob from the woods. Wilbur was happy to see him finally pass that threshold, he was getting so far so much faster than he could have ever imagined. </p><p> </p><p>"Phil, can you make him some dinner? Wanna get him fed. It's a little early but he did a decently good job today." Wilbur smiled to himself as he left the room. </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah I'll get that started up. Thanks for doing that, mate. He looks all the better for it." Phil left the room after Wilbur, taking the used clothes with him and turning off the light. "I'm sure he feels better too." </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur nodded in agreement, "I'm sure he does." </p><p> </p><p>With that, he took Tommy back to his room. He put him back down on the floor and watched as the hybrid sat himself on his haunches. He held out his hand slowly, and Tommy reached out to take it, intertwining his smaller fingers with that of the older boy's.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll come back with dinner, ok?" Wilbur said softly, waiting until Tommy let go to pull his hand back. </p><p> </p><p>"Ok," Tommy answered carefully, and started to go back to his little nesting area. </p><p> </p><p>Wilbur stood and left the room, heading downstairs to help Phil with Tommy's dinner. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy was certainly getting so far now, and it was only up from here. Maybe he'd be able to leave the room more often soon. Wilbur couldn't help but smile at the idea of that. His little brother was getting closer and closer to healthy by the hour. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[ Small TW: <br/>   - References to/descriptions of malnourishment <br/>   - Descriptions of scars and small injuries ] </p><p>Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Beta didn't read this over, so blame me completely for any mistakes 😖 </p><p>Thank you guys again for all the support, the amount of kudos and comments I've gotten are *insane*<br/>love y'all so much!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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